Fossil Fuel Industry's Tired Battle Against Clean Energy is Also a Losing One

The assault on successful renewable energy legislation continues, long after the facts have proven that state renewable policies deliver clean, affordable, and reliable energy solutions that the majority of Americans support. Apparently, the fossil fuel industry and its so-called “free market” allies didn’t get the memo.

There’s a great line in the opening scene of Ridley Scott’s 2000 blockbuster Gladiator where a soldier says to his general, as they are about to slaughter an overmatched foe, “People should know when they’re conquered.” The general replies, “Would you? Would I?”

So I can’t really blame the fossil fuel industry for fighting old battles in an effort to undo approaches that have increased investment in renewable energy in states around the country, created thousands of jobs, and continue to lower energy costs with each passing day.

The usual targets of their attacks are state laws that require a certain percentage of the state’s total energy generation to come from renewable sources like solar, wind, or hydropower. Ohio is the most recent battleground, where state legislators began hearing testimony last week on S.B. 310, a law that would freeze Ohio’s energy efficiency and renewable energy standards at their 2014 levels. Sometimes called renewable portfolio standards (RPS) or renewable energy standards (RES), these laws are in place in 30 states. They have not only proven economically successful across the country, but they are popular in both red and blue states alike.

Just last month, for example, a scientific poll found that Kansas’ 2009 renewable energy law enjoys overwhelming support across political lines: 73% of Republicans, 75% of Independents, and 82% of Democrats support the law. In fact, two-thirds of those polled said they would support increasing the state's renewable energy law, even if it increased their energy bills.

This is Kansas, mind you – not California – whose State Legislature is virtually 100% conservative Republican.

In Texas, which is the largest generator of wind energy in the country, the Republican comptroller has touted the state RPS as an economic driver: “After the RPS was implemented, Texas wind corporations and utilities invested $1 billion in wind power, creating jobs…and increasing the rural tax base.”

Everyone knows that Texas’ history is deeply rooted in oil and gas. But the state RPS is popular among elected officials that have witnessed the remarkable economic boom it sparked. Texas has already surpassed the RPS goal set for 2015. More than 1,300 companies employ more than 100,000 Texans in industries directly and indirectly related to renewable energy.

The state’s Public Utilities Commission concluded that mass deployment of wind reduces the price of electricity for the entire market – each 1,000 MW of wind lowers the wholesale price of electricity by $2.38/MWh.

Colorado’s program has also been a success. The American Wind Energy Association estimates that the state’s RPS is supporting nearly 4,000 direct and indirect jobs and generating a billion dollars in capital investment along with millions in leasing revenue for landowners who benefit from the policy.

But still, the attacks keep coming, full of questionable studies from fossil fuel-funded think tanks.

I can’t blame them. I’ve been fighting for what I believe in for decades, and I’ve had more defeats than wins. But I never gave up, and neither will the fossil fuel companies. What’s different now, however, is that the evidence against them is so convincing that voters, energy customers, and most everyone else recognize that opposition to renewable energy is based on lost corporate profits. Cries of “higher energy costs” and “lost jobs” are no longer credible arguments against the clean energy revolution. They may never know they’ve been conquered, but everyone else will.

About the author

Vice President, US Climate and Energy Jim Marston is the founding director of the Texas office of Environmental Defense Fund (EDF), located in Austin, where he has served since its beginning in 1988. He is also a leader of the Pecan Street, Inc., a partnership that includes Austin Energy, the University of Texas, the Chamber of Commerce, and several large high/clean tech companies aimed at making fundamental changes in the nation's electricity grid.

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EDF's energy experts discuss how to accelerate the transition to a clean, low-carbon energy economy.